Bogotá extends ‘Pico y Placa’ system

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Bogotá mayor Samuel Moreno announced several new measures to improve the flow of traffic in Colombia’s capital city. Most important is the extension of the current ‘Pico y Placa’ system.

Pico y Placa, which roughly translates as ‘Rush hour and License plate’ is a system used by several Colombian cities and is meant to keep cars of which the license plates end with particular numbers off the streets during the most crowded hours of the day.

Every day different numbers are appointed, leaving the regular car user forced to keep his vehicle at home once or twice a week.

The system has proven its value in recent years but traffic remains chaotic even outside rush hours. As such, Moreno announced that the system will be extended from 6am to 8pm.

First reactions were mixed although a large part of Bogotá’s population seems critical. A poll conducted by local TV channel City TV even showed a 75 percent disapproval rate. Viewers worried about ways to pick up their children from school, or wondered whether local authorities would at least offer a tax cut to make up for the days the car cannot be used.

The measure only applies to private cars, leaving taxi’s and motorcycles untouched.